Came across my RAC Rally programme- 1973. 80 stages over 5 days; two overnight stops.Entry? Just the 241 entrants and six manufacturer teams...
2014 Monte Carlo- 68.entries.
Posted 29 January 2014 - 12:52
Came across my RAC Rally programme- 1973. 80 stages over 5 days; two overnight stops.Entry? Just the 241 entrants and six manufacturer teams...
2014 Monte Carlo- 68.entries.
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Posted 29 January 2014 - 13:20
The Monte Carlo Rally has never recovered from the fiasco in 1966 - lost all credibility in the UK - has been on a steady downward slope ever since. How to take a peerless franchise and let the 'blazers' water the brandy!
Posted 29 January 2014 - 15:04
Came across my RAC Rally programme- 1973. 80 stages over 5 days; two overnight stops.Entry? Just the 241 entrants and six manufacturer teams...
Posted 29 January 2014 - 15:25
I rarely missed an RAC Rally in those days - either spectating or marshalling in one or other Welsh forest, and then ringing the GPO results line (remember that?) many times daily to find out the current positions. These days I'm vaguely aware that there's still a 'British' event in the WRC but have no idea who any of the recent winners may have been.
Posted 29 January 2014 - 16:22
80 stages over 5 days
This is of course why the Roger Albert Clark Rally was devised, but they found that times have changed. Quite a lot of those 80 stages were less than 3 miles long. If you need a rescue crew and medical team for each stage, as you do, you can't afford to run that many stages (even over several days). Not to mention the Forestry Commission (or Enterprise or Trees'R'Us or whatever they call themselves now) charges which have escalated far above inflation rates.
I went to every RAC in thiose days, and it was great, but you can't turn the clock back. Be thankful that in 2013, Rally GB at least went to some of the good old favourites like Dyfi, Penmachno and Clocaenog.
As for the Monte, I would not want to return to the 'good old days' of endless road miles driving from Murmansk or Istanbul or Glasgow to Gap with no competitive mileage at all. The Monte tried to stay unchanged for too long and shot itself in the foot.
Posted 30 January 2014 - 07:32
Who is it that is in charge of shaping world ralling at present ?
Posted 30 January 2014 - 10:09
Edited by 2F-001, 30 January 2014 - 10:12.
Posted 30 January 2014 - 10:29
Edited by Allan Lupton, 30 January 2014 - 10:31.
Posted 30 January 2014 - 12:33
Posted 30 January 2014 - 15:14
I rarely missed an RAC Rally in those days - either spectating or marshalling in one or other Welsh forest, and then ringing the GPO results line (remember that?) many times daily to find out the current positions.
Not sure whether 1971 was its first year but it was worth the cost of the call to hear that someone named Gene Luke Turrur was leading.
Posted 30 January 2014 - 15:33
I marshalled a few times on the RAC and Welsh rallies, in North Wales back in the late 60s and early 70s.
Somewhere I have those little medals with bars they used to give us. Anyone else remember them?
Posted 30 January 2014 - 19:32
I marshalled a few times on the RAC and Welsh rallies, in North Wales back in the late 60s and early 70s.
Somewhere I have those little medals with bars they used to give us. Anyone else remember them?
Posted 30 January 2014 - 21:08
Both are aspects of why I and others of us are here on TNF and can't be doing with modern manifestations of what was once a sport.
It's still two guys (or gals) and a car on a special stage with the clock ticking. Just like it always was. Well, once they invented special stages anyway.
Posted 02 February 2014 - 10:26
Posted 02 February 2014 - 10:34
Posted 02 February 2014 - 12:33
It wasn't only the drivers who were heroes in those days. Don't forget that there were no central service parks (except pre-start and pre-night halt), so service 'points' had to be set up at the side of the road, in farm yards, garage forecourts, and even industrial car parks. All arranged in advance - but the service crews often did as much mileage as the rally cars, in big estate cars or in vans, and got about as much/little sleep.
Cue 'Monty Python' remarks about : 'Luxury, that were luxury, etc ....'